Man United vs. Liverpool: It's all about rivalry

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The Manchester United-Liverpool rivalry is legendary among football enthusiasts. The fixture is, put simply, one of the most iconic club matches in world football. And it is watched as avidly in India as it is in Manchester.

The two biggest team of the English football are separated by a little more than thirty miles across the North West of England, but they share 37 league titles (19 to Manchester United and 18 to Liverpool), eight Champions League trophies (five to Liverpool and three for the Red Devils) and 18 FA cup trophies (11 to United and seven to the Reds). Without a shadow of a doubt, they are the most successful, biggest and supported clubs in England.

Over the past seven months not even a single day has gone by when the Red Devils' supporters have not reminded the Scousers that they are now the most successful club in England with a narrow lead as far as the EPL trophies are concerned, while Pool fans can taunt by reminding them that they are still the most successful England club in terms of Champions League success.

Both Manchester United and Liverpool have enjoyed football success and figure in the top five rankings of English soccer teams. In the 70's and 80's, Liverpool were a force to reckon with while the last 15 years have largely been dominated by the Red Devils.

And this rivalry is surely going to get more intense by the appearance of Luis Suarez at the Theatre of Dreams on Saturday. Mancunians will instead try to make it a Theatre of Nightmare for him and his team.

Suarez is definitely going to start for Liverpool on Saturday and he will find himself once again Patrice Evra, the man whose accusation of racism led to an eight-match ban for the Reds striker. That was back in October, but for those inside the ground, it will feel like that it happened yesterday.

No player has transferred directly between United and Liverpool since Phil Chisnall did so in 1964. Playing for both clubs via a stint elsewhere is not so rare, but a player has not been spared because of that.

The most recent player to do this was Michael Owen. Once the golden boy of the Kop, Owen won the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2001 during his days on Merseyside, was eventually sold to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2004. Owen moved from there to Newcastle United after an unsuccessful stint at Madrid and finally he was signed on a free transfer by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2009. Once a Kop hero, he is now seen as a traitor.

United vs. Liverpool is a different kind of war. Ryan Giggs, perhaps the most honest player in the game, dubbed the rivalry "probably the most famous fixture in English football", which is pretty fair. Alex Ferguson still loves to hate Liverpool and takes the clash against the Scousers as the most important of the season.

Liverpool and Manchester United supporters can often get blinded by the passion and drama of a derby and take things overboard. United come in this match with 55 points, just two points behind the league leaders and noisy neighbors Manchester City and surely it's a must0win match for the Devils. On paper, United have the better squad than the Pool and both players and supporters can give them a real hard time on the field.

Though the rivalry is not that intense after the emergence of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City over past few years, but this is one fixture which will be looked forward by both sets of fans and it's still the game to be excited about.